When I wrote about the release of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, developed by Mediatonic and published by Devolver Digital a little over a month ago, I noted that I would be sure to review it at a later date. After getting the game and spending some time with it, that day has finally come. Fall Guys blends elements from a variety of genres in one entertaining battle royale. At times, it is reminiscent of the Mario Party franchise and similar games due to its rapid-fire minigames and playfully competitive nature.
At its core, however, Fall Guys is a battle royale. In the first minigame, which from my experience is usually a race of some sort in a Wipeout meets American Ninja Warrior type of obstacle course, there are 60 players. Some players are eliminated and the rest make it to the next round. This repeats until the final round. There can only be one winner. Winning the match gets you a “crown,” which is an in-game premium currency that can get you fun cosmetic items to outfit your own bean-shaped Fall Guy. There are also “kudos” which can be exchanged for items, and can be earned in every game by every player.
Fall Guys does a fantastic job of differentiating itself from other battle royales, which is important in a market that can seem saturated with similar games. Compared to other battle royales, Fall Guys feels almost laidback and is certainly whimsical. Between the bright (but not overbearing) colors and cheerful music, it’s hard to feel down while playing, even when you lose. Also, due to the large player base, queue times are astoundingly quick, so taking another crack at the game takes almost no time at all. It’s also worth noting that even if you make it to the final round, full games of Fall Guys are very fast. You can set aside fifteen minutes and experience an entire game, which makes Fall Guys perfect for those that only have a short amount of time to dedicate to gaming.
The wide range of mini-games also keeps Fall Guys feeling fresh. While I may feel differently as I keep playing, the variety prevents things from getting too repetitive when playing multiple rounds. There are still quite a few minigames I haven’t seen yet!
Although I feel overwhelmingly positive towards Fall Guys, it is not without its issues. At the time of writing, Fall Guys has been around for a month, and there are many hiccups one might expect in such a new game. Firstly, despite attempts to minimize this, there are a fair amount of hackers. In one game, I encountered a player who knocked down multiple obstacles almost instantly and hurtled to the end of a race only to ascend skyward once they finished. While developers have assured players that they are working to reduce instances of cheating, hackers are prevalent at the moment.
Despite this, overall Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is a truly special game that has brought a well-needed dose of levity to 2020’s gaming scene. This was a game I never knew I needed, but once I tried it, I was thoroughly hooked. It’s truly a special game, and I’d wholeheartedly recommend it.
Fall Guys is currently playable on PC and PS4 and the base game can be purchased for $19.99 on Steam and the Playstation Store. There has been speculation that the game will be available on other platforms on a later date, but no plans have been revealed at the time of writing.
